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Ellen DeGeneres
) Metairie, Louisiana, U.S. |residence=California, U.S. |occupation=Comedian • Television Host • Actress • Writer • Producer |years_active=1978-present |spouse=Portia de Rossi (m. 2008) |parents=Betty DeGeneres (mother) Elliot DeGeneres (father) |relatives=Vance DeGeneres (brother) |character(s)=Ellen Morgan |season(s)=Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 • Season 5 |show_status=Starring }}Ellen Lee DeGeneres (born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, producer and LGBT activist. She is best known for hosting the extremely popular and successful Emmy award-winning talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which debuted in 2003 is currently in its 17th season. She is also known for her stand-up comedy, for her four books, and also for her starring role on popular sitcom Ellen that ran on ABC from 1994 until 1998. She also starred in another sitcom titled The Ellen Show from 2001-2002. Early Life DeGeneres was born and raised in Metairie, Louisiana, to Elizabeth Jane "Betty" DeGeneres (née Pfeffer, born 1930), a speech therapist, and Elliott Everett DeGeneres (c.1925-2018), an insurance agent. She has one brother, Vance, a musician and producer. She is of French, English, German, and Irish descent. She was raised as a Christian Scientist. In 1973, her parents filed for separation and were divorced the following year. Shortly after, Ellen's mother married Roy Gruessendorf, a salesman. Betty Jane and Ellen moved with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with his father. When DeGeneres was 15 or 16 years old, she was molested by her stepfather. She graduated from Atlanta High School in May 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. She moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communication studies. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm with a cousin, Laura Gillen. Her early jobs included working at J. C. Penney and being a waitress at TGI Fridays and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, and a bartender. She relates much of her childhood and career experiences in her comedic work. Stand Up Comedy DeGeneres got her start in stand-up comedy performing at small clubs and coffee houses. By 1981, she was the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. DeGeneres cites Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at this time. In the early 1980s, she began to tour nationally and was named Showtime's Funniest Person in America in 1984. ''Ellen'' DeGeneres' first regular TV role was in a short-lived Fox sitcom called Open House, which ran from 1989-1990. She played the role of Margo Van Meter, an office worker at the Juan Verde Real Estate company. The show co-starred Alison LaPlaca and Mary Page Keller. In 1992, producers Neal Marlens and Carol Black cast DeGeneres in their sitcom Laurie Hill, in the role of Nurse Nancy MacIntyre. The series was initially somewhat of a success, but ratings quickly began to decline and the show was canceled after only ten episodes. However, Marlens and Black were so impressed with DeGeneres' performance that they soon cast her in their next ABC pilot, These Friends of Mine, which they co-created with David S. Rosenthal. This show, which debuted on March 29, 1994, would be retooled and become simply Ellen in the second season. Ellen was popular in its first few seasons, due in part to DeGeneres' style of observational humor; it was often referred to as a "female Seinfeld." Ellen reached its height of popularity in April 1997, when DeGeneres came out as a lesbian on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her character on the sitcom also came out of the closet to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey. The coming-out episode, titled "The Puppy Episode", was the highest-rated episode of Ellen to ever air, pulling in 36.20 million viewers. The series returned for a fifth season, but experienced a steep ratings decline due to the fact that ABC cut back on advertising it. It was believed that The Walt Disney Company, ABC's parent owner, had become uncomfortable with the subject matter depicted on the show now that DeGeneres' character was openly gay. In May 1998, Ellen was canceled. DeGeneres returned to stand-up comedy and later re-established herself as a successful talk show host. After Coming Out *Host Of: The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Since 2003 But Not Hosting It For 28 Times, And Deal To Sickness In Africa) & Spin-off: Ellen's Game of Games. Official Account * Ellen DeGeneres on Twitter * Ellen DeGeneres on Facebook * Ellen DeGeneres on Instagram * Ellen DeGeneres on Youtube.com * Ellen DeGeneres on Instagweb.com * Ellen DeGeneres on Buzzcent.com * Ellen DeGeneres on Insstar.com * Ellen DeGeneres on Photostags.com Personal Life In 2015, Forbes estimated DeGeneres had a net worth of US $75 million. In 2015, she was named the 50th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes and number two on the World Pride Power list. She is a fan of the National Football League and has shown particular support for the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers In 2011, she attended a Saints practice dressed as Packers Hall of Famer Don Hutson Category:Females Category:Actors